You keep listings up to date by letting MLSimport talk to the MLS(Multiple Listing Service) and run background syncs on a schedule. After one proper setup, the plugin checks the RESO Web API, pulls in new and changed properties, and updates or removes sold and expired ones without your team clicking anything. As long as your client’s MLS access stays active and the site’s cron is running, the feed keeps itself current.
How does MLSimport keep MLS listings updated without manual syncing?
A modern MLS integration should update listings in the background without anyone needing to log in or click refresh.
The main idea is simple. The site should listen to the MLS, not wait on your staff. MLSimport connects to RESO Web API feeds from hundreds of MLS and boards, then runs background jobs that watch for changes. Those jobs keep listings moving without anyone on your team opening WordPress or pressing a sync button.
Once your client’s MLS Web API or IDX access is connected, MLSimport sets up scheduled sync tasks in WordPress or a real server cron. The plugin remembers the last sync time, then pulls only new or changed listings each run, which keeps load low. In many setups, that scheduled pull runs every 15 to 60 minutes, close to real time instead of just meeting a slow 24 hour minimum.
Those same jobs also watch status fields from the MLS feed. When a property flips to sold, expired, or withdrawn, the plugin updates or unpublishes it so visitors do not see dead listings. Because MLSimport works against the RESO Data Dictionary standard, it knows which fields to read for price, status, photos, and more. Your agency’s role becomes setting the rules once, then letting the scheduled sync loop keep everything in line.
What setup steps are needed so MLSimport can auto‑refresh listings reliably?
Reliable automatic updates start with correct MLS credentials, board approval, and a one time guided setup.
Before anything can sync, the client must be an active member of their MLS and have Web API or IDX access. MLSimport uses those official credentials to talk to the board’s RESO Web API, so you cannot skip this step or fake the feed. Plan on up to one or two weeks for forms, MLS approval, and keys if the board moves slowly.
After that, your agency installs MLSimport, adds the license key, and walks through the first setup with support. The plugin’s team helps you enter the MLS API endpoint, client ID, and secret, then checks that the connection returns live data. Because MLSimport already maps RESO standard fields, once those keys are in place you do not build your own mapping table or custom feed code.
To keep automation clean, you also choose import filters and compliance items during that first pass. In MLSimport you can restrict imports by cities, price ranges, property types, or even office ID, so you avoid dragging in 200000 listings for one small metro. You also add the MLS copyright and IDX disclaimer text into the listing template once, so every auto generated property page follows rules as the sync runs.
- Confirm your MLS is supported and request RESO Web API or IDX access.
- Install MLSimport on the WordPress site and add the license key.
- Share MLS API credentials safely with MLSimport support for connection.
- Decide filters like areas, property types, price bands, then run the first sync.
How does MLSimport handle ongoing syncs, failures, and MLS API changes?
An automated listing feed must handle MLS outages, credential changes, and schema updates in a steady way.
Once the first import is done, you want to stop thinking about it unless a client changes MLS access. MLSimport tracks the last successful sync time and runs new pulls through WordPress cron or a system cron, so checks keep running when nobody is logged into admin. Each run only asks the MLS for listings changed since that last time, which keeps syncs fast even for large boards.
When something breaks, you need clear failure signs instead of slow data drift. MLSimport logs API errors like expired tokens, invalid credentials, or rate limits and can show them in the WordPress dashboard so your team sees trouble early. From there, either your developer or the plugin’s support can renew the API token, adjust settings, or talk with the MLS tech contact. That error logging stops your client from having a site full of stale inventory for days without anyone noticing.
Schema changes on the MLS side are handled by building MLSimport around the RESO Data Dictionary instead of random field names. When a board adds or renames a field, the plugin update carries the new mapping, so your templates often keep working with little or no change. The same pattern applies to platform changes. MLSimport is kept in step with current WordPress versions and common real estate themes, which cuts down on odd breakage after core or theme updates.
| Automation aspect | What MLSimport does | Benefit for your agency |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled syncing | Runs recurring pulls for new updated and removed listings | No staff time spent refreshing or re importing data |
| Error handling | Logs API errors like expired tokens or rate limits | Issues are visible early so support can react |
| Schema changes | Aligns with RESO Data Dictionary for field mappings | MLS field updates need fewer template edits |
| WordPress updates | Maintained for current WP and real estate themes | Core or theme changes rarely disrupt listing automation |
The table shows that most heavy work sits inside the plugin, not on your team’s task list. As long as those four areas stay covered, you are not chasing surprise outages, bad data, or theme conflicts every time the MLS or WordPress shifts.
How can MLSimport keep a client’s site compliant and locally “portal‑like” automatically?
Automated MLS feeds should follow board rules while giving visitors a full and current local home search.
Most agents want their site to feel like the go to portal for their city, not a thin page. MLSimport helps by importing the client’s full IDX inventory from the MLS, not only their own listings, so buyers can run wide local searches without leaving the site. Because those listings land as WordPress content, you can add neighborhood pages, school guides, or SEO text while the data under them keeps updating.
Compliance stays handled by setting the right pieces once, not every day. In the MLSimport templates you add the required board copyright line, IDX disclaimer, and listing office fields, then every synced listing uses that layout. Status rules are also built in. When the MLS marks a property sold or expired, the plugin removes or updates it on the site inside the normal sync window, so you stay inside the 12 to 24 hour freshness rules many boards expect.
How does MLSimport minimize ongoing maintenance for agencies managing multiple client sites?
A standard MLS integration lets agencies grow without matching daily MLS support work and time waste.
The big hidden cost of doing MLS wrong is your own time, not license fees. With MLSimport, you move almost all MLS logic into the plugin so your developers are not writing and fixing custom feed code for every client. At first this sounds minor. It is not, because when the plugin ships an update, your sites get bug fixes and new RESO tweaks in one pass instead of your agency touching many custom scripts.
Once a site’s import rules, filters, and templates are tuned, that setup can run untouched for many months, sometimes years, if the client’s MLS membership stays active. Your internal process can be trimmed down to a simple path. Confirm the MLS, get credentials, install MLSimport, set filters, and style the front end. I should say, for changes like a client switching brokerages or adding a second MLS, you mostly swap or add credentials in the plugin and let support help re test, rather than rebuilding everything.
Then again, some teams like to fiddle with settings. They check logs every week, tweak filters, worry about tiny sync delays. That is fine, but the point here is you do not have to. You can treat the import as plumbing and only touch it when something major shifts, like a new MLS or a big theme change that you already planned.
FAQ
How often does MLSimport sync listings, and can my agency change the schedule?
MLSimport can sync as often as your hosting and MLS rules allow, and you can change the schedule per site.
In most real projects, agencies set cron jobs to run every 15, 30, or 60 minutes, which stays inside common 12 to 24 hour MLS freshness rules. The plugin uses the last changed timestamp so even frequent runs stay light. If a site has many listings and modest hosting, you can slow the schedule down a bit without losing compliance or needing manual refresh work.
Will staff ever need to press a manual “sync” button with MLSimport?
Under normal conditions staff do not need to trigger manual syncs, because MLSimport’s scheduled jobs handle all updates.
The only times a manual run helps are edge cases, like right after changing filters, swapping credentials, or fixing a token problem. In those moments, you might press a run now control so you do not wait for the next cron cycle. That still counts as rare exception work, not a daily task your agency has to remember.
What happens on the site if the MLS feed goes down for a while?
If the MLS feed is unreachable, MLSimport keeps showing the last successful data while logging errors for your team.
Visitors still see the current listings from the last good sync, so the site does not go blank during a short MLS outage. The plugin’s logs and notices make clear that calls are failing, which lets your staff or MLSimport support step in and work with the MLS tech contact. Once the board fixes the issue, regular background syncs pick up changes again without extra work from your agency.
Can MLSimport handle clients who belong to more than one MLS?
MLSimport can connect to multiple supported MLS boards so multi market clients still get automatic updates.
You set a connection for each MLS that the client belongs to, then choose filters so each feed brings in the right areas and property types. Because the plugin relies on RESO field standards, the combined data is easier to theme and search across regions. Your agency does not have to glue separate widgets together or juggle manual sync flows for each board.
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